We could be the greatest, we could be the worst of all
by Wonderland's Dreams
Summary: Follows on from S4x04. As Elena fights to survive as a vampire she comes to realise her struggles are not all blood related.. The cure will be found, one will die, one will return to being human.. Story rating K /T. PLEASE REVIEW! This is my first attempt of fanfiction, enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Elena stumbled feebly through the graveyard. Every step forward, every breath she took hurt her.. Her very existence pained her more than words could describe.. Just let this end be it...she yearned.. no more now.. No one is going to die anymore, not for her, it was time to stop this deadly cycle..

Her trembling hand clasped around the wooden stake tighter, her fingernails dug into the splintered wood, assuring her of her mortality. She reached the two tombstones. Elena's eyes met with the etched names of Grayson and Miranda Gilbert. Elena crouched to the ground outlining the carved letters with her fingertips. "Another Gilbert will soon be written on the cold stone soon" she thought, her eyes welled up, sadness threatening to consume her..

Flashbacks of her home entered her mind.. the yellowing photographs of smiling faces on her mirror, the black feathered dream-catcher Bonnie had made her years ago, Jeremy's discarded drum kit in the attic from his rock music phase.. the teddy bear her mother had bought her when she was 7 years old because she'd broken her wrist..

Elena let out a strangled cry.. the grief was unbearable, how could they all be gone forever! How could..he be gone...Her breathing began to quicken uncontrollably..She tried to fight away the memory that would forever haunt her.. the image of his body falling to the ground lifeless, eyes blank, empty.

Elena's balance gave way.. she fell to the ground, dragging her torso upright with her last ounce of strength..

Just flick the switch Elena... a small voice pleaded in her head, leave humanity behind, you'll never have to feel this hell again.. you could still live on this earth..

Elena shook her head violently and bit into her lower lip..she could never take the easy way out now.. He had died for her, he had loved her humanity above all else, had treasured it even more so than she did..

Exhaustion began to dim her vision. Slumping forward she leant her head against her father's tombstone, encircling her arms around it weakly.. Through blurry eyes she looked at the stake which still rested her right hand..

The cold dew beneath her seeped through her jeans. The blades of the long grass obscuring her body's outline.. Between the graves she felt some comfort, she lay at her parents' side.

* * *

**_3 months earlier..._**

Elena woke from a restless sleep, flailing her arm to her bedside table she hit the button of her sirening alarm with far more force than was needed.. Hearing the plastic crack under her outstretched palm she rolled her eyes,"Great now need a new alarm.." she muttered to herself. She sighed deeply and rolled over to face the window. As she wrapped the duvet securely round her neck her mind drifted to the events on the porch the night before.

_"When you tell me what a vampire should be, deep down I believe you..I think that you're right and I-I h-hate that feeling, cos I don't want to be..."_

_"You don't want to be like me". _

The memory of Damon's face, the cold resignation and hurt in his clear blue eyes sent a pang of guilt through her body..She hated how his words had resonated so true, the horrible silence that followed, knowing she couldn't possibly deny it. She didn't want to keep hurting Damon but somehow she had got caught up in the music, the blood, the feeling of Damon's chest under his red splattered shirt..

Elena was brought back to the present by the sound of Jeremy rapping on her door. "Elena you awake? School starts in an hour if you're going?" Jeremy mumbled groggily.

"Yeah I'm awake, thanks Jer." Elena replied.

Frowning at the ceiling she listened to Jeremy drag his feet across the hall to the bathroom, yawning like a bear as he did so. She was not going to school that day, partly because really she had the whole of eternity to pass her exams but mostly because she didn't fancy seeing Bonnie again after getting busted with Damon in her arms covered in blood.. Well she didn't get "busted", it's not like Stefan didn't know she had gone to the college with Damon to feed.. Ok he didn't exactly know she'd have been dancing like _that_ with Damon.. She wondered what would have happened had Bonnie not walked in..

Elena threw herself out of bed, roughly changing into a pair of jeans and a vest top, clearing her mind from her musings which she felt had started to take a worrying direction...

Her phone vibrated on her bedside table. Stefan's name illuminated the screen. Her stomach tightened slightly with guilt. She let it ring off. She'd ring him back when she'd had a shower and woken up properly, and felt like a more decent loyal girlfriend she added mentally...

* * *

Stefan sighed and tossed his phone back on the bed. He had had a feeling she wasn't going to pick up this morning.

He had left soon after Elena had returned home, as she had been so tired and emotionally drained from the college trip he suggested she go straight to bed. She hadn't argued and he was glad, he needed to get back to the house and double-check all evidence of Klaus' murder of his dear sister were gone before Damon returned.

The want of blood was tearing Elena apart, it was obvious to see. Her human instincts of compassion and control were being torn from her, being replaced with only blind hunger. He hated the pain it was causing her. A pain he knew was his fault..

But the cure would save her. She wouldn't have to suffer anymore, she could return to her human life and maybe, just maybe, he could return to a life he'd lost over 150 years ago, with her by his side.

"Hello brother, dreaming up your latest diary entry are we?" Damon's sarcastic drawl snapped Stefan out his daydream.

"Dear diary" Damon continued mockingly. "Today I thought of _yet more _new idiotic ways to be a vampire, I'm considering ruling out eating fluffy bunnies as they are just too darn cute."

"What do you want Damon?"

"Oh nothing, just the pleasure of your company" he said with a wry smile.

Stefan tutted under his breath and crossed the room, waiting for Damon's true reason to emerge out of his little charade.

"What not pleased to spend time with me? We used to love each other's company, 'spose that's before Katherine screwed us over and you screwed _me_ over for all eternity" Damon said casually.

"Oh, and before you of course chose Elena's good opinion of yourself over her life" He added venomously.

In a split second Stefan was facing Damon, mere inches from his face.

"What is your problem Damon! Why do you want to keep dragging this up?" Stefan seethed.

Damon had not flinched to his brother's outburst, his face showed nothing but contempt and dark amusement.

"You want to know why brother? Why I want to keep 'dragging' this little thing up? Because I am trying to pick up the pieces of the mess you created and you know what it's getting pretty tiring." Damon's lip curled into a bitter snarl, he really did look tired.

"I don't revel in babysitting your girlfriend you know."

Damon stalked over to the other side of the room, pouring himself a glass of bourbon and downing it in one.

"What do you want me to say Damon? You didn't have to try help her. You could have left it up to me and Caroline, told her no. I was _that_ close to saying no to her myself, but I respected her decision. Don't go taking this out on me when it turns out she still wants to hold onto her humanity Damon, its her choice."

"Ha! There we go again, S_aint Stefan_ advocate for women's choices.. that lead to their demise."

Stefan's fist met with Damon's face with intense force. Damon fell flat on his back, blood pouring from his nose. Damon rounded on Stefan fist raised, teeth bared when Elena burst into the room.

"What the hell is going on?!" Elena demanded, eyes wide at the sight before her.

Damon smoothed the front of his shirt and walked towards the door, his eyes met with Elena's briefly, she was slightly taken aback by the coldness reflected in them. She felt a pang of unease in her stomach, the argument had definitely been about her.

"Why don't you ask Stephan?" Damon shot one last disdainful glare at Stefan and walked out the room.

Elena thought how when she had walked in on the brothers fighting before she'd been met with a sarcastic and somewhat amused response from Damon. The lack of which worried Elena further, it was very uncharacteristic of him to immediately leave the room like that. Damon's face had an essence of something Elena had rarely seen in him, it looked something resembling, well.. tiredness?

Elena looked at Stefan, his face was dark. Whatever Damon had said had certainly hit home she thought. Maybe he'd told him about their dancing, how much she'd been enjoying herself, how if Bonnie hadn't broken up the party Damon would have got his way, a repeat of the motel night perhaps.. Stefan still didn't know what had happened that night either.. It unnerved Elena how many secrets about Damon and her were totting up that Stefan was oblivious to.

"So you gonna tell me what that was about?" She tried to keep her voice even, hiding her inner fears of his response.

"Damon was just winding me up, nothing to concern yourself about."Stefan replied with an attempt of a smile.

He quickly changed the subject to what they were going to do today he cheerily suggested another trip on the motorbike to take her mind of things?

Elena went along with the charade for the rest of the morning, she knew she wasn't the only one with secrets to hide..


	2. Chapter 2

Jeremy sat alone in his room. His mind felt oddly, well.. empty. He knew he'd spent the evening watching TV and that Stefan had come round to see Elena but as she hadn't been there he'd stayed a while, and hung out with him. The series of events made sense, they just didn't feel right, like he'd been there in body but not mind. It had been a busy week though so Jeremy decided to discard his strange feelings for tiredness.

Jeremy rolled into bed, closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

His eyes flew open. He was lying on his back in the middle of a dark field looking up at a bleak starless sky. The sound of a running stream was the only sound to be heard, but what should have been a gentle cascade was somehow distorted, clunky, almost metallic sounding. His body felt heavy. A strange sensation began to creep up from the back of his hand, up his forearm twisting round his shoulder, it was as though something was winding its way up it, like a vine. Tighter and tighter these imaginary vines wound themselves, piercing his skin painfully. The feeling stretched on across his chest unrelenting until it halted just left of his midline, above his heart.

The pain was immense, burning, his heart raced a thousand beats and then it halted, there was nothing but silence.

Jeremy woke in a feverish sweat. His heart, to his relief, was still beating, and very fast at that. He sat upright in bed, almost as in a trance he reached for his sketch book that had been gathering dust on the shelf above his bed. As the pencil touched the page, he began to draw the long winding image that was etched on his memory.

Hours passed, and finally the work as complete. Strewn across the floor were pages of the drawing, one linking into the other, like a map. With a trembling hand he inspected each page. Jeremy thought back to Conner's tattoo that night at the grill, the resemblance was striking. Yet.. somehow different. The more he looked at the elaborate patterns, the more personal they felt. Like they were his. They were for him alone to read.

The more he looked at it, the clearer his mind felt and the more uneasy he was about his memories of the previous evening. It was as though they had been rehearsed to him, he'd known that feeling before. Compulsion.

Jeremy sat shaken on the floor of his room, could he really trust anyone with these drawings? Would they just erase his memory of the whole thing because he need not be part of whatever the latest vampire scheme was? Even if it was for morally good reasons? Of which he was sure his sister would be behind..

No he would keep these to himself.

* * *

It was early in the morning. Elena had not been sleeping that well for the past few days and once daylight had broken she felt little need to stay in bed. Jeremy had been avoiding her, for a reason she could not fathom, accept the obvious yet unlikely reason that he wanted to keep his distance now his sister was a vampire. He hadn't been the only one recently Elena had been missing the company of..

It had been nearly a week since Elena had last seen Damon and it wasn't as though he'd been roaming round Mystic Falls merely avoiding her, she genuinely didn't know where he was. She had wanted to ask Stephan, however she felt it ill-advised due to the nature of the brother's last encounter she'd witnessed. She hated to admit it but she really was getting worried over the whereabouts of the older Salvatore, not that she enjoyed his company per say, in fact all they ever seemed to do was fight recently..

Elena sighed and flopped back onto the cushions of her sofa. "Just pick up the phone and call him" Elena thought to herself. It's perfectly acceptable to ask him where he's gone, they were still friends after all.. Elena allowed herself to smirk at the word "friend" her mind had conjured up, that really wasn't the right word, not even close.

She picked up her phone and selected 'Damon mobile'. Elena fidgeted anxiously as the phone rang.. and rang.. and rang until going to voicemail.

"Gah! For goodness sake Damon!" Elena said angrily to the silence of her lounge. She threw her phone down on the end of the sofa, watching it bounce off onto the floor with a clatter. She didn't know why but she knew Damon had ignored that call. Knew he had wanted to spite her. Her facial expression softened slightly thinking of how it had been her that had upset him last time, by silently agreeing she didn't want to be like him..

Elena eyed her phone on the floor. God dammit this is so stupid Elena. She rang again. One ring, two ring..

"Hi Elena, whats up? Did you watch Bambi on the Disney channel and now want to turn yourself in for your hideous crimes?" came Damon's mocking greeting.

Elena rolled her eyes."Damon, where are you?"

"Having myself a bit of a mini-break, is that allowed?" Jibed Damon.

"Well you planning on coming back any time soon?" Elena said, a note of worry escaping her, much to her annoyance.

"In the next few days" said Damon casually, the mockery fading from his voice, "Is everything ok there?"

"Yeah it's fi-ne" Elena's voice wavered on the last word. God why was it so hard to keep her emotions under control?

"Elena? What's going on? Tell me." Damon's said seriously, with what sounded like real concern.

"I am fine... It's just.. Well I know things are a bit funny between us at the moment but I..well I just really want to s-"

Elena stopped mid sentence, she could hear female voices in the background on Damon's end of the phone..

"Hey gorgeous come back in here, me and Megan are getting cold" purred one.

"Yes don't you want more blood? Our necks are all bare... just like us.." another giggled hysterically.

It took Elena a couple of seconds for to process what she'd just heard. Then anger took over.

"Actually Damon, sounds like Megan and her friend need you more. And for the record, you were right.. I don't want to be like you." Elena snapped coldly and swiftly hung up.

Elena stood up, stunned at what she had just heard and said herself. Without warning she launched her phone at the wall opposite, smashing it into little pieces. Rage pulsing through her body, she paced up and down, spitting expletives out at random.

_That _is was what he'd been doing? Compelling girls, (cheap ones she added) to meet all his bodily needs both vampire and caveman originated?

What had she been thinking? _Worrying_ about him? It was clear he didn't have a care in the world, no more than any other horny guy that wanted satisfying anyway!

Elena stopped pacing and hurriedly picked up the pieces of her destroyed phone, she marched over to the kitchen and put the wreckage in the bin. Elena blinked, it surprised herself that her vision was slightly blurry. She leaned lightly on the fridge and ran her fingers roughly through her hair. As she felt the anger ebb out of her, the small feelings of betrayal and hurt in the depth in her stomach began to grow.

She hated this, this feeling. She hated how he had this effect on her. This control over her, even from miles and miles away in some sleazy hotel room he'd managed to reduce her to a wreck. Why are you feeling like this Elena? part of her asked. She wasn't going to reply to that part of her, the part she liked to repress very far down, she just couldn't go there..

Elena shook her head, she'd go find Stefan. She knew she'd never find him off seducing girls, she could rely on him. He'd tell her everything was going to be fine, and as usual, she'd try her best to believe it..

* * *

50 miles away, Damon closed the door of his hotel room. Megan and Lisa were gone, compelled to forget and fed blood to erase the physical marks left. 'Grab, feed, erase' thought Damon, perfectly executed, no trace to remain of the whole affair, no one got hurt.. But as he sat down with his bottle of bourbon he thought ironically that the sorority girls had got off lightest from the whole experience..

After his fight with Stefan, Damon had needed to escape from the whole screwed up triangle. Of which he felt he was by far the weakest side. Elena didn't want to be like him? Fine he was gonna do exactly what he wanted to do, what a vampire should do. Flick off the switch and enjoy himself, a few selfish days of blood and warm flesh would put him right. He'd survived for a long time on those pleasures, he would do so again..

Yet, the more he drank the more he thought of her, the touch of their hot soft skin felt cold and distant. He hated it, Elena was never free from his mind. Angrily and scornfully he'd drank their blood, nearly draining the very life from them but just stopping himself, the image of _her_ face bringing him back from the brink.

"She's chosen Stefan" he told himself, for what felt like the millionth time. Her fail safe, her teenage dream. He felt doomed to be nothing but an onlooker to the messed up fairytale..

Yet why had she hung up on him? What right had she to be jealous? To be disappointed in him? He would never live up to her expectations, she should know that by now.

Despite himself, and his better judgement he began to stuff his clothes back in his duffel bag.

Until the day he was strong enough to banish all feelings of hope for Elena, until he could be that better person, he would stay. For now, at least for a little while longer, Mystic Falls was his home.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thankyou so much for the reviews, keep them coming, good things and things for me to improve upon, I'm all ears! Hope you enjoy my next chapter..**

* * *

_We could live for a thousand years but if I hurt you,_

_I'd make wine from your tears_

_I told you that we could fly, 'cause we all have wings_

_but some of us don't know why .._

_(INXS- Never tear us apart)_

* * *

Elena was so hungry, there was no way she could suppress it anymore. Since the fiasco at Whitmore college she had been very unwilling to drink again, yet in the last few days she'd forced herself to impose on Matt as a blood source once more. The hunger had gotten too much for her to bare. Luckily he didn't remember the carnage that nearly ensued the last time she'd drank his blood and she had been very careful not to let it go that way again. Although the temptation to drain him was getting ever more prominent.

Forcing her mouth apart from Matt's bleeding hand (the neck was _definitely_ off-limits), she looked around to check no one had seen.

She stood in an open air corridor, outside the old unused biology labs. It was the perfect place due to the overgrown vegetation up the side of the building, the view was cut off from onlookers. Only by peering through a break in the foliage could she see the rest of the school milling around below.

"Is that enough Elena? Are you sure? You really do still look pale" said Matt, studying Elena with concern.

Elena wiped her mouth clean of blood with the back of her hand and stepped a few paces backward from Matt, turning slightly from him. If she couldn't see the blood the urge wouldn't be as strong, she told herself, unfortunately there was still its delicious smell..

"I'm a vampire now Matt, being pale is part of the stereotype didn't you know? I also sleep upside down from the ceiling at night nowadays." Elena said with an edge of unintended bitterness. Sarcasm seemed to becoming part of her responses more and more nowadays.

"I just worry about you Elena. I am here for you, I always will be" said Matt reassuringly. He tied up his hand wound with a bandage, concealing the two clean puncture marks Elena's teeth had left. To Elena's relief the smell of the blood faded.

"Thanks Matt. I do appreciate it but you already do too much for me already. Really I'll be ok" Elena turned back to him and half heartedly smiled, it was a very unconvincing expression but it was the best she could muster.

Elena heard the purr of a car engine. She moved backwards to a break in the vegetation so that she could scan the school car park. Where, rolling up beside the football stand, was an all too familiar Chevy convertible, with an all too familiar passenger inside.

Elena's expression must have been a strange sight to Matt, she imagined it to be of confusion, mingled with annoyance and a little relief. Matt joined Elena to see the source of her bewildering expression. Damon got out the car and clocked Elena's whereabouts instantly, she should have hidden back behind the shrubs...

As Damon started making his way towards the steps below them Matt inquired: "Soo, er, what is happening between you and Damon these days? Imagining things are a bit awkward?"

"What? Why do you say that?" Elena asked accusingly. How could Matt have known about Whitmore? Had Bonnie told him about it? Who else had she told? She remembered the sound of the giggling girls down the phone to Damon, adding to her flustered state.

Matt's eyes widened at Elena's sudden turn. "Oh, um well, I only meant the whole you choosing Stefan thing? Must be tricky for you to have him around" Matt said sheepishly, looking as though he wished he'd never mentioned it.

"Oh. Right yeah, I just thought-" Elena grimaced, she felt awful for snapping at him but neither did she particularly want to answer the questioning look on Matt's face.

She decided to conclude their conversation. "Yeah it has been hard.. Sorry for snapping."

"That's ok. I'll leave you to it Elena, looks like Damon wants a word with you anyway" Matt gestured behind her, sure enough there Damon stood casually, one eyebrow impatiently raised at her.

"Remember I'm never far away ok?" Matt added quietly with concern, looking between Elena and Damon before he turned away and left.

His concern for me isn't deserved, thought Elena. She really wasn't a nice person to be around right now.

Elena sighed and faced Damon, mirroring his unimpressed expression.

"Surprised to see you here. Sounded like you were having a_ ball_ on vacation" Elena said coldly.

"Oh I was believe me, like I said, I do have a thing for sorority girls.." Damon replied, a goading smile spread round his mouth, he watched for Elena's response to the reference of Whitmore. She wasn't going to give him one, she merely rolled her eyes disapprovingly.

"But then you know, I thought to myself, I wonder what the kids are doing back home. What messes have they got themselves into now. Talking of which I see Matt's been put back on the menu." Damon added casually.

Elena flinched at the word 'menu'. "Me and Matt were just talking actually". She regretting lying as soon as she said it. Damon's expression lit up at the unlikely statement.

"Reeally? Just talking, right. Is that why you have blood on your face?" Damon smirked at how amateur Elena's lies were sometimes.

"What? No I don't!" Elena said in a panicky voice. She wiped again round her mouth, she couldn't have been that stupid to have left blood on her face?

Damon stepped toward Elena, reaching his hand out to her face. The sudden move caught Elena off guard, she froze. Damon's thumb stroked the edge of Elena's mouth steadily downwards, his forefinger chucked under her chin. His piercing gaze lingered on hers momentarily. He upturned his hand. Sure enough there was a small scarlet streak glistening between his thumb and forefinger where it had been in contact with her face. He smiled mockingly at her shocked expression.

"Ok fine, I fed on Matt, is it really a concern to you? Didn't think you were his biggest fan as I remember?" Elena said shakily, turning away from Damon. She couldn't believe she'd had blood on her face! She may as well have walked around school with a 'vampire' sign round her neck.

Elena started to feel light-headed. She touched her face absent-mindedly, Damon's gentle finger tips felt like they'd left an imprint on her skin. The sensation didn't help. The hunger for blood inside her seemed to swell, but she was far too weak. Matt was right she hadn't taken enough, enough would have probably meant he was dead, she thought painfully.

Damon's smirk had faded out, he came round to face Elena. She felt the black veins beneath her eyes pulse lightly, the hunger was starting to show.

"Elena?" Damon's said worriedly.

"Just don't Damon!" Elena snapped. Once more Elena dodged his eye contact. She hastily went to grab her bag resting against the opposite wall. As she leant down however the world went on a tilt and she stumbled onto one knee. Elena blinked hard trying to rotate the world back on to its axis. With her returning awareness she realised that Damon was kneeling down next to her, holding up her other side.

"Elena are you ok? Elena look at me."

Damon readjusted Elena so that she was sat kneeling opposite him, her head was still swaying to side to side. Damon cupped her chin trying to keep her stable, her eyes locked with Damon's. Elena couldn't hide anymore from him, she felt stripped away. Biting her lower lip, hot tears started to fill her eyes. She thrashed her head away from him. She would not cry, she would not let her inner turmoil surface for him to see. For him to know he was right as usual, to mock her feeble attempt of being a vampire, to mock her humanity. Worse than all those put together, Elena couldn't bare the thought of him seeing how much she needed him right now.

With her last ounce of strength, Elena got up and she ran. She heard Damon shouting after her but she wasn't going to look back. Out through the labs she ran, bursting through the old fire doors, she heard the alarm ring out around her. It vibrated down to her very core echoing her emotions of calamity and distress. Finally she clumsily staggered through the trees that lay just beyond the school's perimeter.

In a heap she collasped on the forest floor. Utterly exhausted, she prayed for her life to have been someone else's bad dream.

Above her head she saw a black bird's outline against the clear blue cloudless sky.


	4. Chapter 4

_'Where does one go from a world of insanity? _

_Somewhere on the other side of despair.'_

(T.S Eliot)

* * *

The bell rang out for afternoon classes to begin. The students flocked the corridors, bustling and pushing their way to their next lesson. Through the dim surrounding him Stefan could hear Matt's voice from the opposite side of the corridor.

"No, I haven't seen Elena since the beginning of lunch. She didn't look so good this morning, I mean she looked, well, fragile. She seemed really on edge".

"I wonder where she's gone..." said Caroline worriedly.

"Damon was with her when I left" Matt added in a low voice. Stefan could see Caroline's eyebrows raise in response.

"Well, that's a whole other problem isn't it" Caroline mumbled quietly under her breath.

Matt's brow furrowed, nodding gravely in agreement. "Shall we tell Stefan she's gone? I know we shouldn't babysit her, but-"

"No we should" Caroline said firmly. "I mean you'd want to know if your girlfriend, in a fragile state, had disappeared, last seen with the likes of Damon?...Especially with their _history_" she added in a hushed tone.

Caroline's words made Stefan's insides tighten at the thought of his girlfriend's 'history' with his brother. He knew there were things that happened between them when he was away, but neither had he particularly wanted to know. The guilt he felt for the hideous crimes he'd done in the time away from her, coupled with his relief that, even after all he had done, she had come running back to his arms, had been enough to repress any desire he had to find out.

Yet, now in the present, he felt unease. The night Elena had returned from Whitmore she'd cried and cried in his arms on her porch and despite her physical closeness to him she had been distant.. Stefan sighed to himself, don't be paranoid, she loves you, she chose you. She's just not herself right now. The blood lust was affecting her in ways Stefan did not like, her temper, her impulsivity, her bitter responses of late were not part of the girl he fell in love with. She wouldn't have to wait long, he prayed. The cure would come, and she would be herself once more.

Stefan decided to make an appearance. Walking up to Caroline he greeted her with a warm smile, she may be a gossip but Stefan cared greatly for Caroline. He admired her morality and control in being a vampire. He'd even stretch to say he was in awe of her at times, he thought to himself.

"Hey Caroline, you seen Elena anywhere? I haven't seen her this lunchtime" Stefan enquired casually.

"O-h yes, well no, I mean-" Caroline shook her blonde locks lightly, gathering her flustered state together."No I haven't seen her since this morning but Matt said she didn't look so great earlier, we think she's maybe with Damon? If you know where he is? She isn't answering her phone."

"No don't have a clue where he is. Last time I'd seen him he'd packed a bag and said he was off, to quote him: ' on a blood and booze vay-kay', and that was a week ago." Stefan said sourly.

"Charming" Caroline remarked with a mildly disgusted look on her face.

Stefan's phone rang from his pocket.

"Speak of the devil.."

Stefan's face turned to concern as Damon recounted Elena's disappearing act.

"So which direction was she running in?"

Down the phone Damon responded sarcastically along the lines of Elena not being like a homing pigeon that will only fly in one direction once released. After Stefan impatiently prompted him for an answer Damon replied that she went out via the back entrance of the labs as she'd set the alarms off, but bar that it was anybody's guess. Stefan hung up the phone and relayed the information to Matt and Caroline's worried faces.

Caroline was first to jump into action, clapping her hands she distributed the following orders:

"Well we can't stay here chatting, Stefan you come with me we'll check the playing fields at the back. Matt can you go find Jeremy and see if he's seen her?"

Along the now deserted corridor the group divided in search of Elena.

* * *

Elena sat slumped against the trunk of an old oak tree on the outskirts of the woodland. She repetitively ripped the grass up from underneath her, trying to calm her breathing, to no avail. She was starving, the hunger pulsed through her veins, hot and feverish, even her teeth and gums were aching from it. She felt like nothing more than a rabid dog, aggressive, psychotic, not longer wanted by society, she thought to herself..

She just had to feed.. She frantically looked around her, she could hear every branch break, every rustle of the leaves but to her disappointment all were caused by scrambling mice, rats, rabbits darting in and out of their burrows, crows flapping high in the trees.. Oh _why_ can't I eat animals! She thought desperately to herself.

Suddenly she was brought to reality by the sounds of footsteps. Elena listened as she heard laughter and chatter. A deeper male voice was telling an amusing story about waking up in an alleyway after one too many and the twittering giggle of his female friend followed..

Elena darted upright, hiding behind the tree where she had been sitting. A kind of manic excitement was building inside her, it banished all remaining logic, she could smell their blood coursing through their veins, flowing like a heavenly river, calling to her..

She needed them to come her way.. She knew she must get them near her...

Almost as in a trance Elena took a branch from the forest floor and carved a deep wound into her leg, tearing through her jeans as she did so. She smeared the blood all around the ripped fabric...so even if the wound healed it still looked like an injury she thought to herself..

From her hiding place Elena crept from tree to tree towards the happy voices.. Louder and louder they came until Elena could see them only fifty metres ahead of her. Emerging from her hiding place Elena stumbled loudly to the ground.

"Argghh! Oh god! " she cried. Elena reached for her already healing wound, dry tearless sobs emitting from her.

"What was that? Look over there there's a girl!" she heard the girl exclaim pointing in Elena's direction.

"Oh, hey over here! P-Please help me!" Elena cried.

The couple ran towards her, reaching the clearing in the trees where Elena lay curled on her side. Elena's body trembled with anticipation.

"Are you ok? What happened?" the male stranger asked worriedly.

"My leg.. I-I fell over, I don't think I can walk" said Elena.

The man approached her frowning worriedly at her ripped and blood stained jeans. As he bent down to eye level, Elena looked into the man's eyes, and he looked back. His face turned to horror as he gazed into the cold abyss of Elena's eyes. The jet black of her pupils spread down in spidery webs under her eyes, a dark smile curled round her mouth, exposing her fangs.

"Neither of you will make a sound or move" Elena said glancing from the man in front of her to his shocked girlfriend standing a few feet behind him. The shock from their eyes faded to blankness as the compulsion set in.

Elena struck.

Her teeth plunged into the man's neck, causing blood to run down Elena's chin down to her chest. The taste was intoxicating, she gulped down more and more, unaware of the life seeping away from the human beneath her, the world had only one colour. Red.

* * *

Caroline and Stefan froze in the middle of the playing field. It wasn't human but they could both smell it. Blood.

Instantaneously they looked at the forest that lay before them and then at each other. With a nod, at full speed they ran, directed by the smell that grew ever stronger. They arrived at the edge of a clearing looking around for Elena.

There ahead they saw her. She was lying on the ground, cradling a wound which both Stefan and Caroline could see, even from the distance where they now stood, was healed. Two humans were there at her aid.

"What is she-" Stefan stopped, he heard Elena's command to stay still and silent. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, what Elena was _doing_.

" NO! Elena! Stop!" screamed Caroline. They raced towards her.

In a flash, Caroline wrenched Elena's jaw open and threw her backwards with massive force. Elena collided with the base of a tree with an almighty crack. The trunk of the oak had split down the middle with the power of her landing. Elena rested motionless, a pile of twisted limbs. Worry for Elena rested on Caroline's face before quickly returning to one of assertive determination. Caroline ran to the man, nearly drained of his life, who lay unconscious on the ground. She bit her wrist and pressed the flowing redness to his mouth. Caroline barked new compulsion at the frozen woman:

"Run away! None of this ever happened!"

Stefan crouched down beside Elena. "Elena, can you hear me? Elena!" Stefan shook her shoulder.

Elena's body slowly began to unfurl itself. The sound of bones snapping back into place filled the silent air as Elena untwisted her arm out from underneath her. She rolled herself up onto a crawl position, stretching out her back with a gut-wrenching click of her spine. Elena's head remained hanging down between her arms as she stayed on all fours, her dark hair obscuring her face.

Both Caroline and Stefan stared transfixed at the horrific sight.

"Elena?" Stephan asked tentatively.

Elena let out a feral growl. She stumbled to a half standing position, her posture stooped, shoulders raised, blood dripping from her snarling mouth. Elena whipped back her tangled hair from her face and lunged furiously at Caroline.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the slowness of updating! Uni work is getting pretty manic! Please continue to review, would love to know people's opinions on my story :)**

* * *

Caroline had split seconds to react to Elena's retaliation, she dodged quickly to one side, catching Elena off-balance as she collided with her sideways on. She took advantage of Elena's momentary lack of balance and grabbed her by her wrists, pressing her forcefully to the ground. Elena struggled against Caroline, her feet scrabbling on the ground trying to keep her upright, her body writhed to be free of her hold.

"Let me go! Get off me!" Elena spat venomously, her veins pulsed beneath her eyes, prominent against her pale skin. She was out of control.

Stefan crouched beside Caroline, holding Elena's legs down. His face was blank and cold.

"Elena, look at me... LOOK at me!" Caroline held Elena's manic gaze. Elena's struggles lessened, unable to move under the combined strength of both Caroline and Stefan, their age, especially Stefan's, gave them an advantage.

"Elena" Caroline said softly. "Elena this is not you, I'm your friend. I'm sorry I hurt you, I won't hurt you again."

Elena's rapid breathing began to slow under the calming blue eyes of her friend.

"Yes that's it, come back to us Elena, it's ok" Caroline said soothingly.

The black veins seeped away under her skin, her eyes returned to warm brown. Elena looked back at Caroline, who in releasing Elena from her grip, gave her a small smile. Elena's breathing started to quicken again, her body began to shake uncontrollably. What had she done?!

"Ker, I'm so so sorry. I dunno w-what came over me, I-I didn't mean to..I never planned to come here an- and.." Elena's voice broke, hot tears spilling down her cheeks thick and fast. Caroline bent down and cradled her in her arms, rhythmically stroking her head. Elena crumbled as reality of what she had done sunk into her, wave after wave of grief gripped her.

Elena glanced at Stefan through Caroline's embrace. Their eyes met, fresh sobs erupted from Elena at the sight of Stefan's hard, unfeeling face looking back at her. Stefan's mouth twitched, he turned away from Elena looking blankly into the forest.

Who had she become?

* * *

Damon sat alone in Stefan's room, doing his weekly read of his brother's diary.. nothing but a load of drivel about Elena not being who she used to be.. Well of course she isn't brother, and that's your fault I'd like to add, thought Damon.

Interestingly Stefan's diary entries were very short as of late, as were his responses when Damon had asked where he'd been for hours at a time. Damon couldn't put his finger on it, but Stefan was hiding something..

Damon resigned to the fact his brother's soppy philosophical diary entries weren't going to be much help. It did amuse him how Stefan still kept moving his diary around the room, yet Damon found it each and every time, his hiding places were quite predictable.. Much like when Stefan was a child, Damon could always find him in hide and seek, Damon pondered how long it had been since he remembered those childish games which occurred nearly 170 years ago...

Damon was snapped out of his trip down memory lane by the sound of Stefan and Elena entering the house. He could tell it was Stefan by his loud striding footsteps, and Elena, well he'd grown so accustomed to listening to the pattern of her breathing, every throat clear, he would have recognised her a mile away.. Their footsteps moved into the living room, neither of them were talking, as the silence extended Damon's curiosity increased. Where had Elena been? And more intriguingly what had she been doing to create such silence?

Elena was first to break the silence.

"Stefan.. I'm so sorry you had to see that, I really am ashamed of myself, you know I never would have.. had I.." Elena's response petered out to nothing. Elena opened and shut her mouth, about to say something then thinking better of it in the same second. She sat down on the sofa, massaging her forehead with her fingertips.

"Elena why didn't you come find me when you felt this bad? I could have helped you"

"How Stefan? How could you have helped me? By bringing Matt to me to feed on? I can't keep putting him in danger like that" Elena said firmly.

"But what about those walkers Elena? You nearly killed them instead!" he retaliated.

"Don't you think I know that Stefan.. I just lost control" Elena said, her defensiveness ebbed away.

"It was more than that Elena" Stephan said quietly. He began to pace up and down in front of Elena, the anger building up inside him was clear to see.

"You pretended to be injured, you set a_ trap_ for them, you relied on their good nature to come to your aid so that you could _kill_ them!"

"Stefan, please, I wasn't in control, it was like I was in a trance, the blood just..just took over" Elena stuttered. Her response sounded so feeble, she looked at the floor, avoiding Stefan's accusing glare.

"And what were you talking to Damon about before you ran off? Did he say something to you?"

The words rushed out of Stefan impulsively. Elena wasn't blind to the jealousy that shadowed his face. Anger inside Elena began to rise of its own accord.

"No he didn't actually Stefan so don't bring him into this! He had nothing to do with what happened today!" Elena snapped.

"_Nothing_ to do with it? Come on Elena, you lay on the ground, waited for help to come and then attacked.. Sound familiar to you?" Stefan gritted his teeth, turning angrily from Elena to look out the window.

It dawned on Elena, of course it was familiar, Damon's trick of lying in the middle of the road,waiting for a car to stop to help and then he'd... Oh god. How could she have done this? Had Damon's way of hunting crept into her subconscious somehow.. It can't be pure chance she had acted in almost exactly the same way..

"He hasn't been leading me astray Stefan, what I did today was entirely _my_ fault. I-I just went on blood.. autopilot" God Elena what do you sound like, she thought to herself.

Stefan turned to face her, "Blood autopilot? You think what you did today is how you should react to blood?" He said fuming at Elena but she'd had enough of Stefan lecturing her like she was five.

"Like you can talk Stefan!" Elena shrieked. "Don't lecture me on how to react to blood, I don't go ripping apart whole villages when I lose control!"

The words flew out of her before she knew what she was saying. A horrible silence filled the air. Stefan's face flickered with hurt, before turning to a dark unfeeling expression. She knew she'd crossed a line.

"I think we need a bit of space, we'll continue this later" he said coldly, picking up his coat he strode across the room and out the front door, letting it swing shut with a bang.

Damon had listened to the whole conversation from his brother's room upstairs, slowly he made his way across the corridor, into his own room. He could hear Elena's shuddering breathing downstairs, she was clearly on the edge of tears.. He wanted to comfort her, but a small moral voice told him to leave her alone, that this is between them.. If she wants to talk she knows where to look for me..

Damon peeled his shirt off, tossing it onto the bed. He'd have a shower, and if she was still alone sobbing downstairs when he was out, he'd go check on her..

He didn't need to wait long. As he crossed the room heading to the bathroom he heard tentative footsteps on the corridor outside.

Elena raised her hand to knock on the door but hesitated. How is Damon going to help? She asked herself. Everything I have done today just reinforces his statement that I'm like him now.. She couldn't deal with him gloating at being right, _this_ right. She went to move away from the doorway, her footing creaked on the floorboard underneath. Damn it. He would have heard that..

"Don't you know it's rude to hover at doorways?" came the mocking sound of Damon's voice the other side of the door.

Elena huffed in annoyance and opened the door.


	6. Chapter 6

Elena pushed the door open wide. Damon was stood topless in the middle of the room, a fluffy white towel hung over his shoulder, an amused expression hovering on his lips as she entered the room.

Elena's eyes widened at the sight of Damon's toned chest, this unexpected show of flesh had caught her off guard. She couldn't help her eyes lingering momentarily too long on his honed abs before looking at Damon's equally beautiful face.. His dark hair in stark contrast to those clear blue eyes.. Oh for goodness sake she was blushing, why did vampire's still blush? She thought annoyingly.

Damon's face seemed to light up in noticing the delicate pink colour which spread on Elena's cheeks at the sight of him. He couldn't help but raise his eyebrows smugly at her.

"So what can I do for you miss Gilbert?" Damon asked. He casually flung the white towel off his shoulder and on to the bed behind him, exposing yet more of his naked top-half. Elena's eyes flitted between the bed where the towel had landed and Damon in front of her. She blushed further at the inappropriate connection her mind was making with the two entities...

With a small shake of her head Elena brought her mind back to the present. She actually didn't know why she was now stood here in Damon's bedroom.. Why had she gone upstairs to find him? It felt like she'd just followed her feet involuntarily.. Elena rubbed her eyes tiredly, she felt drained from her argument with Stefan and couldn't think of a better way to respond to Damon than the truth..

"I dunno really, just.. wanted to see you."

Her honest response took Damon by surprise, his smugness disappeared from his face. He gestured for her to come into the room. He walked slowly to his wardrobe, getting out a black t-shirt and pulling it over his head. Elena relaxed a little as the muscles of his back disappeared under the fabric of his t-shirt, least that part of Damon wouldn't distract her.. She perched herself on the edge of his bed, unsure of what to say.

"So.. how's your day been?" Damon said ironically. Elena knew he'd been listening from upstairs.

"Pretty awful.. one of the worst days ever actually" Elena said matter of factly, though her lip trembled giving her away. The memories of the forest were haunting her once more.

"Well let's think about this, did you kill anyone today?" Damon raised his eyebrows at her, he was going to somehow try to make today sound less catastrophic than it really had been, she thought to herself.

"No but-"

"And do you still have the use of your limbs? Full set of teeth remaining?"

"Yes of course I do" Elena rolled her eyes at him.

"Well it could've been worse then" Damon said with half a teasing smile. Elena couldn't help but smile back a little, it was true everyone was in one piece despite her rampage, thanks to Caroline.. she thought. She really needed to go say thankyou to her but as she did break half the bones in Elena's body in the process, she was not so willing to shower praise on her just yet.

Damon ambled onto the bed beside Elena. He sat patiently, waiting for her to speak. The silence was not uncomfortable, it actually felt reassuring somehow, he wasn't about to lecture her or mock her like she had been dreading. Elena looked up to his face. She remembered how it had felt earlier that day as he'd brushed the blood from her face, how his fingertips had lingered on her bottom lip. How she'd ran away from him..

"I'm sorry I ran away from you earlier Damon, I wasn't in a good place" Elena said quietly.

"Don't worry about it" Damon said warmly, he gently reached out, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. The edge of his hand rested on her cheek.

"I shouldn't have left you when I did" His brow furrowed, a flicker of guilt crossed his perfect features.

"No, Damon..you should be free to go where you like and, _do_ what you like without having to think about me.. and what stupid things I might do" said Elena, looking into his clear blue eyes full of concern she regretted her outburst on the phone a few days before. What right did she have to tell him what to do?

Damon let out a long sigh, his hand dropping away from Elena's cheek. His eyes seemed to brighten with an idea.

"You know what you need Elena, is some _fun_" He said animatedly clapping his hand against his thigh.

"I think we tried your idea of fun Damon, didn't go quite to plan.." Elena said tentatively, thinking she really didn't want a repeat of Whitmore.

"True but I was thinking more.. 'rated 12a' fun, maybe with some.. adult references" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Elena couldn't help but smile, he was back to his joking ways it seemed.

"How about rated PG? And throw in a musical number too?" Elena chipped in. Damon pulled a disgusted face at the mention of a musical number, Elena laughed. The sound of which took her aback, she hadn't laughed in such a long time it seemed almost alien. For the first time in mouths she felt relaxed.

Damon picked up on her elevated mood and ran with it, lifting her off the bed he put her roughly into a dance hold.

"Damon what _are_ you doing?" said Elena giggling.

"Getting the musical number over with" he whispered in her ear sending chills down her spine.

He spun her round on the spot, again and again. Waves of elated dizziness took over Elena. She gasped to catch her breath from laughing, it felt so good to feel free of the blood lust for once. To finish he dipped her low to the ground, slowly bringing her back up to eye level. As her giggles faded out and her dizziness subsided Elena up looked at Damon, whose face to her surprise was only inches from hers. She could feel his breathing on her face, it was as fast as hers. Her heart stuttered, of its own accord her body leaned in closer.. but it was Damon who broke up the tryst. Smiling half heartedly at her, with a pang of regret on his face, he loosened his hold of Elena.

"So now that's out the way.. let's go have some PG fun shall we?" Damon's expression returned to his usual teasing self. He offered out his arm to Elena, like a proper gentleman of the 1800's would have, she thought to herself. She smiled at him and entwined her arm with his, for once in her vampire life, she felt at ease.

* * *

Bonnie stood admiring the artefacts in Professor Shane's office, ancient yellowed maps, slabs of engraved stone, old pieces of jewellery illuminated in glass cabinets.. She was fascinated by it, so much of it felt personal to her, to her family's witch past. A past which, had it not been for Professor Shane's help (or rather Shane as he'd asked Bonnie to call him) may have drifted away from Bonnie altogether.

He'd help her connect back with magic, her identity, her power, she was so grateful to him and he never asked anything in return..Unlike her other so-called friends she thought bitterly to herself. The only time they wanted her was to save someone, usually a vampire, it was against her very nature to save the undead, yet she always felt obliged to help, even if the consequences for herself were terrible..

Shane opened the door to his office, smiling warmly as he saw Bonnie, running his hands lightly through his black curls.. Bonnie had to admit, her little crush on him was very much growing..

"Lovely to see you again Bonnie" Shane said happily. "So glad you could come"

"Not at all, thanks for having me, these sessions really mean a lot to me" Bonnie replied smiling at the professor as he gestured for her to take a seat at his desk. Shane followed suit sitting opposite Bonnie, rearranging the papers on his desk so there was clear space between them.

"So, how has the practice been going since we last met? Any breakthroughs?"

"Well I did the meditation you recommended last week and I tried to light a candle in front of me, like before, but instead I, erm, well I set my bedside table on fire instead.." Bonnie blushed sheepishly. "Wasn't quite my aim, but.. well I was kind of pleased with it"

"That's amazing progress! I do hope the table went out of its own accord?" He added laughing.

"Yes it did!" Bonnie replied giggling.

"Would you mind showing me?" Shane said nodding at the dusty fireplace behind Bonnie.

"Yeah if you want, but you have been warned" Bonnie said teasingly.

She walked over the other side of the room, Shane got up and followed her to the fireplace, hovering just behind her. Bonnie knelt down and began muttering the incantation, focussing on the grey remains lying dead in the hearth. Bonnie tried the incantation again, and again. The grey remains rested unlit.

"Try again Bonnie" said Shane, nodding his head encouragingly, however his eyes looked eager..

"Ok, I will"

Bonnie refocused her mind and began the spell anew, this time she felt power pulsing at her shaking fingertips which rested above the grey charcoal. She closed her eyes, black shadows seemed to move around behind her eyelids. Just as she was starting to panic as to the unknown shapes before her, the power left her. She could feel the heat before she opened her eyes. The fireplace roared with a blazing fire, crackling merrily like it had been lit hours before.

Bonnie grinning at her success, looked over her shoulder at Shane illuminated in amber light from the fire she had created. His face was that of utter amazement.

"Bonnie that was incredible!" His eyes wide with awe. Bonnie leapt up from where she sat, hugging the professor delightedly, to which he reciprocated with the same energy.

"I can't believe I did that! It was all in the right place and everything!" She said breathlessly, unlocking herself from the professors embrace. She locked eyes with him momentarily, enough to catch his gaze change from an intense eagerness to his usual happy countenance.

"We'll have to move onto to something much harder, this is clearly too easy for you!" Shane smiled, sitting himself back behind his desk. "How do you feel?"

"Great, really great, I feel you are teaching me so much. Thankyou Shane, I wouldn't have been able to do this without you" Bonnie said gratefully, an adoring expression on her face.

"It's all your doing Bonnie, I'm merely guiding your extraordinary talent" Shane gushed. "You know you can always ask me for anything Bonnie, anything to help."

Bonnie paused, her smile faltering slightly. Should she ask Shane about the hunter? Would he know anything about those strange marks found on the wooden bullets fired at Stefan? Bonnie glanced round the room at the wall hangings and engravings all scattered with endless symbols and strange languages. If anyone would know, it would be him..

"Well, now you mention it, I've come across some symbols... I'm pretty certain they are not witch originated, least they aren't recorded in the literature I looked at" Bonnie explained.

"I see, how interesting" Shane's brow furrowed in curiosity. "Do you have a copy of them with you?"

"I have one of the objects in my bag, with the symbols on it" Bonnie rooted around in her handbag, retrieving the wooden bullet and placing it on the table in front of her. Shane's expression changed to mild surprise.

"Where did you get these Bonnie?" He said quietly as he studied the bullet which rested in his open palm.

"A friend of mine, found them.. he thought I'd be interested, he knows I like all the symbols stuff" Bonnie explained calmly, although she fidgeted with the hem of her skirt nervously as Shane inspected them closer.

"Don't 'spose your friend knows someone who liked to call themselves a 'hunter' do they?" Shane asked casually.

"Well, um, yes they do, the hunter is the one who owned these" Bonnie's heart rate increased, she felt her insides tighten in anticipation of how the professor would react, he clearly did know a lot about the symbols, and _what_ a hunter would be hunting... A wave of unease went over Bonnie, had she just told him she knew a vampire?


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry for the delay in updating! Uni life gets ever more busy! Pleeease continue to review, love to know what you think :)**

* * *

_'I see your blue eyes_

_Every time I close mine_

_You make it hard to see_

_Where I belong to_

_ When I'm not around you_

_It's like I'm not with me' (Colbie Caillat-I never told you)_

* * *

Bonnie's anxiety was building. Why had she said she knew a hunter? Shane may be open to magic, but being friends with vampires, werewolves?

Shane looked at Bonnie with a concerned expression. "Bonnie is there something you want to talk to me about? You look anxious?"

"N-No I'm fine" said Bonnie, her voice echoed round the room in the silence, her charade was not convincing. Shane got up from his seat and walked round the desk to Bonnie. Bonnie averted her eyes, pretending to study the ink well on his desk intently.

"Bonnie.." Shane said quietly, he rested a reassuring hand on Bonnie's shoulder. Bonnie blinked hard and turned slowly to look at him.

"You don't have to hide from me Bonnie, I promise anything you tell me will stay between you and me."

Bonnie glanced at Shane, his eyes were full of warmth, she opened her mouth but hesitated..She felt like the people she could trust were diminishing, she desperately wanted to tell someone how she was feeling, all the darkness that had surrounded her in the past year.. Dare she go there? Her mother had left her again and was now a vampire, not to mention all her other vampire acquaintances.. Elena, Damon, Caroline, Stefan seemed only wanted her for her magic.. She had pushed Jamie away as well.. Bonnie blinked hard, her eyes were moist.

"Bonnie, I shouldn't probably say this... But... You mean a lot to me, more than you probably should.." Shane whispered, a shadow briefly crossed his expression as he held Bonnie's gaze firmly.."I hate to see you sad like this."

Shane reached out, encircling Bonnie's hand in his. Bonnie's face turned from sadness to surprise at his gesture. Her heart began to race at the feeling of his touch.

"I can trust you Shane?" Bonnie said tentatively.

"Yes, you can. I promise you." Shane said in earnest. Bonnie squeezed his hand lightly and smiled at him. She sighed deeply, preparing herself for the story she was about to tell.

"You better take a seat Shane.. this may take a while"

* * *

Elena wound down the windows in Damon's car, she felt the cool evening air whip through her hair, causing it to dance wildly around her face. She didn't know where Damon was taking her, he had merely promised her that it would be fun and that blood was not involved. However Elena did not care where they were going, she had felt a wave of relief in passing over Wickery Bridge, knowing that they were heading out of Mystic Falls. She felt positively care-free and she refused to let her moral compass take over and tell her she should be feeling otherwise..

Damon glanced from driving to look at Elena, he smiled to himself. Her head was tilted towards the window, a happy distant expression played on her face. He wondered what she was thinking about.. The dim light of the sunset illuminated her features, highlighting flecks of copper in her dark brown hair which caressed her cheeks in the summer breeze. The sight took his breath away, tearing his eyes back to the road in front of him he forced himself to remember no matter how beautiful she was, Elena loved his brother, not him..

Elena sighed happily and wound the window back up, running her hand through her windswept hair.

"So, where are you taking me?"

"I'm surprised it's taken you that long to ask, I do hope you don't go jumping into the car of anybody who tells you they'll show you a good time.." Damon smirked.

"Damn I forgot to tell you I took up night crawling..." Elena teased sarcastically in response. They smiled at each other, Elena wished she could always feel this at ease.

"Anyway, in response to your question, I'm taking you back somewhere where we've both been before, we had a lot of fun.. and no blood was involved then either.."

Elena's insides tightened, he didn't mean the motel did he? In seeing Elena's startled expression Damon added,

"You also drank me under the table, if that narrows it down for you?"

"Oh! Right.." Elena said, a note of relief escaping her. They were going to Georgia, Bree's bar, where they'd eaten burgers and chips and she'd had far too many tequila slammers...

"I dunno where you were thinking I was taking you... Then again, we have had many fun times.." Damon said knowingly, his eyes flashed with a sort of intensity which made the hair on Elena's arms stand up. The atmosphere inside the car seemed to shift, the memory of the motel, her kissing Damon, running her hands over his bare chest, ran like a film reel through Elena's head. She had a feeling it was running round Damon's mind too.. She had to bring the conversation back to a comfortable level..

"I, I dunno if you count the trip to Georgia as entirely a fun time, you did get covered in petrol and nearly died.. and, I had to save you remember?" Elena said cockily.

"I know, you told me not to forget it.." Damon breathed a shallow sigh and looked back at the road ahead.

"and trust me, I never have.." Damon said quietly.

His response was far more earnest than Elena had expected, it caught her off guard. She thought back to when she'd saved him, back when she was still human.. The panic that had shaken her to the core when he'd been thrown to the floor, the lighter in Lexi's boyfriend's hand threatening to end his life, to take him away from her. She was surprised remembering how even back then she couldn't bare the thought of loosing him..

Damon looked at Elena's darkened expression quizzically, he didn't like how her happy mood seemed to be creeping away, deciding it was best not to delve into whatever line of thought she had followed he piped up:

"Of course I'd hope you'd do a better job now of saving me than just _talking_ him out of killing me, seeing as you're a vampire now" Damon said, returning to his usual humour.

"Well seeing as I am a vampire now, I can say you did a pretty shoddy job of defending yourself! I mean where were the fangs Damon? Poor effort on your part.." Elena shook her head in mock disappointment, a smile spreading over her face.

Damon laughed back, the air seemed to clear putting aside all that still lay unsaid between them. At least for now.

They continued the friendly banter as the hours passed by and the sky darkened, the first stars began to shine out over the quiet landscape.

* * *

Stefan revved the engine of his car harder, flying up through the gears he barreled down the deserted country road. Frustratedly he hit the steering wheel with the palm of his outstretched hand, cursing as he did so. God what had got into her? He thought angrily, why couldn't she see Damon was driving very ounce of humanity she had left out of her, replacing it with his own immoral code?

Her vicious words of how at least she didn't rip villages apart rang horribly in his ears, how naive had he been to think she'd just accepted that episode of his life? How he had left her to fend for herself, how he'd inadvertently pushed her towards Damon of all people..

Stefan turned sharply off the road onto a long extensive gravel driveway, causing the small stones to spray furiously under the car's wheels. Ahead of him the newly build manor house's outline rose up majestically on the horizon. Determinedly he got out of his car, striding across to the imposing front door he rapped on it.

"Klaus! Open up now!" Stefan shouted impatiently.

"Now now, no need for rudeness is there?" Came Klaus' calm sinister response from behind Stefan. Stefan turned quickly to face Klaus, a sarky smile on his face.

"I forgot how much manners meant to you Klaus" Jibed Stefan. "What's happening with the cure? How close are you to finding it?" Stefan said bluntly.

"No need to be so direct my friend, I 'spose the times of us talking and drinking together are so long gone?" said Klaus mockingly.

"Klaus, what have you been doing to find the cure? All I seem to see you doing nowadays is stalking Caroline, I mean you really should take the hint there" Stefan sniped. Klaus' expression darkened dangerously, stepping forward he closed the distance between them.

"I'll have you know Stefan I've been to Italy and back and now possess the sword needed for breaking the curse, all I'm missing is the hunter, who for all intents and purposes has disappeared off the face of the earth no thanks to your ever vigilant eye!" Klaus said venomously.

"You already have the hunter's mark Klaus thanks to Jeremy, surely we can figure out the spell from that?"

"No Stefan, we need a hunter for this to happen. So if you really want Elena back to her innocent human self again, which considering her little.. indiscretion in the woods earlier today, I think you do.. You will find me a hunter. And fast." Klaus said threateningly, enjoying the look of surprise on Stefan's face when he mentioned Elena's failed hunting attempt.

"Ok, find Connor I get it." Stefan said bitterly, he turned and walked towards his car, he grasped the handle about to enter the car..

"Oh, and one more thing Stefan" Klaus said casually, Stefan sighed and looked at Klaus irritably.

"I suggest that you make sure Elena doesn't stray more than 5 miles away from Mystic Falls on her little road trip with Damon if I were you. Don't want to be loosing her as well now do we?" Klaus revelled in the angst he had clearly caused Stefan, who's countenance had changed to a confused and blackened expression.

"Therefore, I'd make sure she's back in Mystic Falls by midnight, for your sake and, well.. for hers." Klaus said under his breath, turning from Stefan with a small sadistic smile lingering on his lips.

Stefan marched to his car and sped away down the driveway.

For goodness sake Elena! Why had she disappeared with Damon again? Why did she keep running to him?

He had to stop her leaving Mystic Falls, Klaus most probably had the hybrids primed to bring her back by force if she did not return by midnight, and.. his mind clouded with sickening jealousy once more, what could she possibly be doing alone with Damon past midnight anyway? It would be nothing he didn't regret stopping he concluded defiantly.

He frantically dialled Elena's number on his phone, over and over again, voicemail, voicemail. The automated sound of the answering machine almost seemed to mock him:

"I'm sorry. This person is currently unavailable"...


End file.
